Trial date set for Rindge man accused of violating court order

JAFFREY — A trial date has been set for May 30 in the case of a Rindge man charged with violating a protective order that prohibits him from contacting his wife.

Jason Czekalski, 51, of Rindge, who faces felony-level sexual assault charges, is accused of allegedly contacting his wife, Jacqueline Czekalski, through a third party on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 in order to secure bail money, according to court documents.

Czekalski has been held in lieu of $50,000 cash bail at the Cheshire County House of Corrections since his arrest in February. N.H. State police arrested Czekalski on Feb. 15 in Stoddard on a warrant issued by the Rindge Police Department charging him with violation of a protective order, a misdemeanor-level charge.

At a pre-trial hearing at the 8th Circuit Court in Jaffrey on Wednesday, Czekalski’s public defender, James O’Rourke, requested that Czekalski’s bail be reduced and that, if released, Czekalski wear an electronic monitoring device, O’Rourke wrote in an email to the Ledger-Transcript on Thursday. But 8th Circuit Court Justice L. Phillips Runyon III denied the request.

As of press time Monday, Czekalski was still incarcerated.

Czekalski is charged with two counts of felonious sexual assault and one count of aggravated felonious sexual assault. According to court records, the alleged victim is related to Czekalski by blood and was 11 years old at the time of the alleged assaults, which reportedly took place between March 27, 1993, and Dec. 27, 1995. The case is currently before the Cheshire County Superior Court in Keene.

Alyssa Dandrea can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 228 or adandrea@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter at @alyssadandrea.